I LUST OCH NOD
One man's search for the most obscure, most ponderous, yet hottest porn flick of all time
SYNOPSIS
The short version:
A young woman is torn between her genuine love for her fiancé and her cravings for illicit sex. As their wedding approaches, she pushes her desires to the limit. Along the way, there's a lot of pseudo-metaphysical babble.
But here's the official synopsis from the film's distributor brochure (which can be seen in full in the Ephemera section), illustrated with screenshots and commentary provided by myself.
CEREMONY
This is the sensual film about a woman torn between true love for the man she plans to marry - and the desires she has for other men - many other men. (Like, maybe three guys...and a girl)
The story begins with Elizabeth making erotic love to a stranger in his tenement apartment. He doesn't even know her name when she tells him that today is her wedding day. (Pretty hot scene with only ambient noise, but distractingly artsy editing - lit by swinging lamp, ugh.)
Later, caressing her body in a hot bath tub, Elizabeth questions herself: why does she feel these mixed emotions about her fiance, David, and other men? Is something wrong with her? (Nothing that I can see.) (Oh, and here I just want to point out that it's mildly hilarious when Elizabeth - an American actress - has any dialogue with her onscreen family - Swedish actors speaking heavily accented English.)
She remembers making love to David on the island where they live - falling asleep in his arms - waking to the frightening presence of a boat that pulled into the inlet as they slept - and the mysterious young man who stares at her from on board. (Try as I might, I cannot see the boat - or its very '70s skipper - as "frightening.")
The boat is all that she has on her mind now. Dining by moonlight with David, making passionate love with him (all of the sex scenes with David, played by Ulf Brunnberg, seem to be softcore - and they all have a childlike, playful quality to them as opposed to the down 'n' dirty feel of her other trysts. I'm sure this was an intentional choice. Probably.), she only thinks of the boat. Why is it here? Who is that man? Finally, she can't stand it any longer. She swims out to the boat and allows herself to be taken by this mystery sailor. They make love on the boat's deck beneath the orange sun. (A very hot scene which, until I came across a copy ripped from Swedish cable - see Versions - I thought was softcore. The very bad quality screenshots below will prove that was not the case.)
Elizabeth questions her best friend: why do I feel this way? Why isn't David enough? Why do I need other lovers? She tells about a weird old man, a writer who lives in the woods nearby. The old man tells her his theories of duality in human nature (oh boy does he ever, in the most ponderous, drawn-out fashion imaginable) that some of us are two souls - opposites - struggling against one another. Elizabeth feels that he is describing her.
While tanning herself in the hot sun, David comes home early and questions her: have you ever been unfaithful to me? Will you ever be? Her answers reassure him. (A very nicely done scene as other reviewers have pointed out.)
The next morning, the mystery boat is gone as silently as it arrived.
Elizabeth has car trouble after buying her bridal gown so she goes to spend some time at David's office - but he's out at a conference. She stops for a drink at an outdoor cafe and notices a handsome businessman (just look at this smarmy mutha here) looking her over. She reminds herself to be true to David and leaves to occupy herself at a movie. There, the businessman sits down next to her and lifts her skirt. He fondles her to the point of orgasm and when he's through, he leaves as suddenly as he arrived. (Another standout scene, mainly for the cleverness of the dialogue of the movie she's watching comically mirroring her state of mind - and for the seemingly real orgasm that plays out in a close-up on her face. See below.)
She sees the writer again to try and find some meaning to the confusion she's feeling - and he perplexes her further with his ideas about parallel worlds where identical people to ourselves do identical things. (Yeah, more of that. We get it.)
The wedding day arrives and Elizabeth is radiant (she truly is). The ceremony goes off without a hitch except for one eternal moment when Elizabeth can’t get the words "I do" out of her throat. But the outdoor reception is beautiful - until the old writer confuses Elizabeth, saying that he's leaving and not coming back. She believes this is some sort of omen.
It is late at night when she visits the church where she was married. She sits and thinks about why she doesn’t feel satisfied being married (eating an apple as she does so - SYMBOLISM!). She heads for a night club (Stockholm's famous Chat Noir) owned by a former, jet set boyfriend - and pleads with him to "blow her mind". She is searching for the ultimate erotic thrill.
He takes her to this exotic country mansion in his high speed race car (which we spend a long time watching zip along for some reason. Product placement?) - and there introduces her to the delights of an orgy where beautiful men and woman caress every inch of her body. She has never been so fulfilled. (Okay, this is the climax of the film [pun intended], when Elizabeth dives into the deep-end of wanton sexuality - and it's pretty frickin' hot, even in the edited down US version I got these caps from. UK porn pioneer Mary Millington initiates Elona into sapphic love just before a pair of '70s dudes join them. This scene is longer in the Swedish cable version I got the hardcore caps from above, but is too dark [even with video brightening tools] to cap. It's clear from that version that, once again, this is a hardcore group sex scene featuring a pair of "money shots." The only drawback in either version is the wall-to-wall "jungle beat" score that replaces any ambient sound.)
But another part of her is torn with guilt. She rushes her new husband to beg forgiveness and tell him how she still loves him. (This neglects to mention her return visit to the old man who tells her she can't get rid of her "other self" and the weird metaphysical ending in which she watches herself at her own reception.)
THE END
DISCLAIMER
Though I have thoroughly mocked the film's pretensions, specifically with regards to the Karl Friedrich Andersson character's metaphysical musings on the duality within Man, it's primarily out of frustration with the way they're presented. The inclusion of such themes in an erotic film is laudable, but the repetitive "underlining" of it and the stilted delivery just slows the pace of the whole story. Still, kudos to Mr. Gerber for attempting depth! It's part of what makes this film so memorable!
ELIZABETH: I'm still just not sure - about being both.
KARL: I don't think you can be anything else.
